Latest news with #AnuragThakur
India Gazette
2 days ago
- General
- India Gazette
"India peace-loving country, but will respond firmly to provocation": Anurag Thakur
Cairo [Egypt], June 4 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur, who is part of the all-party delegation led by Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) or NCP SP MP Supriya Sule, reaffirmed India's commitment to peace and issued a stern warning that any provocation or threat to the nation's security will be met with firm and decisive action. He emphasised that while India stands as a peace-loving nation, it will not hesitate to act decisively if its sovereignty or the safety of its citizens is threatened. 'The safety of 140 crore Indians and the security of our country's borders is our utmost priority. We have delivered a clear message to the world that India will take every step necessary to safeguard its citizens, its unity, and its territorial integrity,' Anurag Thakur told ANI. Reiterating India's long-standing stance of non-aggression, Thakur stated, 'We never attack anyone. We are a peace-loving country, but we will not remain quiet if someone disturbs that peace.' Anurag Thakur reinforced India's uncompromising stance on terrorism and said that countries using nuclear capabilities as a shield while fostering terror groups will not be able to intimidate India. 'Those who hide behind nuclear power, shelter, train terror outfits and spread cross-border terrorism, must understand -- nuclear threat will not work,' Thakur said, in a pointed reference widely seen as directed at Pakistan. He further accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism, saying, 'In all these countries, we told the people in the government and others that Pakistan sponsors terrorism. The top brass of the Pakistani army attends the funeral of designated terrorists.' Calling for collective global action, Thakur stressed the need for an international alliance to eradicate terrorism. 'Everyone condemned terrorism. There is a need for a global coalition against terrorism to uproot this disease from the entire world,' he said. The multi-party delegation, led by Supriya Sule, concluded its official visit to Egypt. On Tuesday, members met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in the New Administrative Capital. After the meeting concluded, Badr Abdelatty condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 26 civilians and said that such attacks can't be tolerated. Labelling the relationship between India and Egypt as 'historic,' Abdelatty added that Egypt and India need to enhance their economic relationship to match the excellent political relationship between the two countries and their leaders. The delegation led by Supriya Sule includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Manish Tewari, Anurag Singh Thakur, Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Anand Sharma, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, V Muraleedharan, Former Minister of State for External Affairs, and Syed Akbaruddin, Former Permanent Representative of India to the UN. The Supriya Sule-led parliamentary delegation also paid a floral tribute to Indian soldiers at the Heliopolis War Memorial, who laid their lives in World War I and World War II. Earlier, Congress MP Manish Tewari said the Indian all-party parliamentary delegation began its visit to Egypt with a series of high-level interactions with key members of the Egyptian Parliament and foreign affairs experts, focusing on security cooperation and the fight against state-sponsored terrorism. Tewari said that as part of their diplomatic outreach, the delegation also visited the Egyptian Council of Foreign Relations, a leading think tank, where they met former Foreign Minister Mohamed Orabi and other senior ambassadors, both serving and retired. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in key countries. The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. (ANI)
India Gazette
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
All-party delegation leader Supriya Sule remembers Pahalgam attack while addressing Indian diaspora in Cairo
Cairo [Egypt], Jun 3 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP and Group 7 of all-party delegation leader Supriya Sule recalled the deep sense of shock that followed the Pahalgam terror incident, describing how the tragedy unfolded while senior political leaders were in Delhi deliberating key electoral reforms. While addressing the Indian Diaspora in Cairo, MP Sule said that the tragic incident in Pahalgam had left the entire nation hurt. 'Five weeks ago, India's soul was hurt. As you all are aware, what happened in Pahalgam came as a shock to all of us -- it was completely unexpected,' Sule said. At the time, Sule noted, she and several parliamentarians, including BJP leader Anurag Thakur and Congress MP Manish Tewari, were engaged in a high-level meeting in Delhi, discussing the possibility of implementing 'One Nation, One Election', a proposal to synchronise national and state elections across the country. 'We were all sitting in a meeting in Delhi, where the government is considering one nation, one election. So the entire election system should only happen on one day in the entire country and we were all discussing, debating, deliberating that how better can we make India and make it a stronger democracy and make the election process even better,' she said. Sule pointed out that the participants were 'completely oblivious' to the tragedy. She said, 'We were completely oblivious while we were all together in Delhi of what was happening in Pahalgam.' Congress MP Manish Tewari has called for firm international action against nations that employ terrorism as a tool of statecraft, asserting that the time has come to officially blacklist such countries. He singled out Pakistan as the 'prima donna' among these states, accusing it of perpetuating low-intensity conflict against India through proxy actors. 'This is the message which all of us have tried to convey to our interlocutors that the time has come to procribe once for all those states which use terror as an instrument of state policy, and Pakistan unfortunately ranks as the prima donna of those states which relentlessly and without an iota of shame continues to spawn a low-intensity conflict against India, using these semi-state actors,' said Tewari. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur, also part of the delegation, highlighted the widespread global appeal of India's soft power, citing personal experiences with international delegations during his tenure as a Union Minister. 'Not only in Egypt, you will see the strength of India's soft power in many countries worldwide. Despite many people not even understanding your language, your fan following in the country is huge,' Thakur said. He recalled that during ministerial meetings with delegations from Central Asia, Russia, and other regions, the influence of Indian culture was clearly visible. 'When I was a Minister, people and delegations from Central Asia, Russia, and some other countries used to come. The students from Central Asia said - we also want to do some cultural programs for you,' he recounted. Thakur added that he initially expected them to perform something from their native culture. 'I thought they would sing a song from their country, but imagine a person who is 20-22 years old, wondering which song they would like to sing - they sang a song from the days of Mithun Chakraborty,' he said, referring to the popular Bollywood star from the 1980s. The all-party delegation led by Supriya Sule also includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Manish Tewari, Anurag Singh Thakur, Lavu Sri Krishna devarayalu, Anand Sharma, former Minister of Commerce & Industry, V Muraleedharan, Former Minister of State for External Affairs, and Syed Akbaruddin, Former Permanent Representative of India to the UN. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in key countries. The multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. (ANI)
India Gazette
5 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"We gave a befitting reply": All-party delegation member Anand Sharma in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa [Ethiopia], June 1 (ANI): Congress MP Anand Sharma, who is part of the multi-party delegation to Ethiopia on Saturday (local time), said that India gave a 'befitting reply' in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. Interacting with the Indian community in Addis Adaba, Anand Sharma emphasised that India does not believe in violence and war and highlighted that only the terrorist organisations were targeted in the precise Indian strikes under Operation Sindoor. 'It is an ancient culture of centuries that we do not attack any country, but we gave the attackers a befitting reply. Our army fought back strongly this time too; they targeted only the terrorist organisations. 'India's thinking is clear that India is not a country that believes in violence and war. It is an ancient culture of centuries that we do not attack any country, but we gave the attackers a befitting reply. Our army fought back strongly this time too; they targeted only the terrorist organisations,' Anand Sharma said. He cornered Pakistan of protecting terrorists while referring to the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack. 'When the Mumbai attack or the Parliament attack occurred, the whole world was stunned. But our agencies did the right thing. India did not sleep; it took time to identify the culprits. Cases were filed in America as well, but in Pakistan, cases were not filed contrary to what they had assured the world, the United Nations. Because these attacks were carried out at their behest with their help,' he said. Additionally, Congress MP Manish Tiwari warned Pakistan that if they do not stop promoting terrorism, then India's response will be 'very aggressive.' 'When it comes to India's self-respect, we all rise above party politics and stand together to pay our respects to Bharat Mata... If Pakistan does not stop promoting terrorism, then the answer, which has been very calculated till now, will be very aggressive,' Manish Tewari said. Lauding the Indian community for their contribution to Ethiopia's education, BJP MP Anurag Thakur urged them to convey India's message against terrorism. 'Most of the people used to say that Indian films are the India's soft power; when in Ethiopia, I came to know about another soft power that we all can be proud of - be it former prime minister of Ethiopia are any other leader - all have said that it's Indian teachers who have educated us ... You have created many leaders, and hence, you are the leader of the leaders; you are the Guru. And hence, you can convey a message very clearly that India has been a victim of terrorism for the last 4-5 decades. We have lost thousands of lives because of cross-border terrorism,' Anurag Thakur said. Thakur further asserted that India has repeatedly 'thrashed' Pakistan in direct confrontation therefore, they sponsor terrorism to kill innocent people. 'Whenever there has been a direct war, be it 1965, 1971 or Kargil, India has constantly thrashed Pakistan. Pakistan understand it cannot fight us directly and hence it sponsors terrorism to kill innocent people,' Thakur said. Earlier, the Supriya Sule-led delegation met with Tagesse Chaffo, Speaker of the House of Peoples' Representatives of Ethiopia, and members of the House. They also delivered remarks on Operation Sindoor and India's united stance against terrorism. The Supriya Sule-led delegation is in Ethiopia. The delegation includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikramjit Singh Sahney (AAP), Manish Tewari (Congress), Anurag Singh Thakur (BJP), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Anand Sharma (Congress), V Muraleedharan (BJP), and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin. Seven all-party delegations are taking part in various outreach programmes in the countries they are assigned to. The delegations aim to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its fight against cross-border terrorism. (ANI)
India Gazette
6 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Pakistan directly or indirectly funding terrorists and terrorist outfits": All-party member Anurag Thakur in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa [Ethiopia], May 31 (ANI): BJP MP Anurag Thakur, member of the all-party delegation led by NCP-SCP Supriya Sule as part of Modi government's big diplomatic outreach, on Saturday, said that the solidarity which Ethiopia has shown with the people of India against terrorism shows that we have a 'common cause', 'zero tolerance' against terrorism. 'African Union has been suffering for a long time in the Sahel region where more than 3,43,000 people and armed forces have lost their lives. It is the African Union that has a clear-cut policy and framework on terrorism. We have requested them and we have told them our viewpoint on how India has been facing cross-border terrorism for so many decades and has lost thousands of lives. The recent attack in Pahalgam was based on religion, which tried to divide the country. But 1.4 billion Indians stand united in this fight against terrorism, 'Thakur told ANI. He also rebuked Pakistan for 'indirectly or directly funding' the terrorists. 'We collectively, from the Ethiopian side and the Indian side, agreed on the lines of the global coalition against terrorism. India is facing state-sponsored terrorism where Pakistan is directly or indirectly funding the terrorists and the terrorist solidarity which Ethiopia has shown with the people of India against terrorism shows that we have a common cause, zero tolerance against terrorism...' On Saturday, the delegation had several meetings, including one with Adem Farah, Vice President of the Prosperity Party, Ethiopia's ruling party; a meeting with the Peace and Security Council of the African Union at its Headquarters; and a meeting with former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. The delegation had arrived at Bole International Airport in Ethiopia on Friday, where they were received and welcomed by the Ambassador of India to Ethiopia, Anil Kumar Rai. The delegation also includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikramjit Singh Sahney (AAP), Manish Tewari (Congress), Anurag Singh Thakur (BJP), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Anand Sharma (Congress), V Muraleedharan (BJP), and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin. Recently, the delegation concluded its diplomatic visit to South Africa with a series of meetings at India House in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, involving political leaders, think tanks, and the Indian diaspora. In a diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, the Modi government has formed seven multi-party delegations to inform nations about Pakistan's links to terrorism and India's strong message of zero tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The delegations aim to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism. The seven delegations are visiting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria, the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy, Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia, Russia, Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa. Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack by Pak-sponsored terrorists in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. (ANI)
India.com
26-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
India Will Not Hold Back, If Pakistan Dares To Attack Us Again, says BJP MP Anurag Thakur in Qatar
BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Monday said that India has set a new benchmark, a new normal, with Operation Sindoor. He added that India will not hold back if Pakistan dares to attack us again. Thakur, a member of the all-party delegation led by NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, is in Qatar as part of India's effort to project the country's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations in the context of Operation Sindoor. Speaking to ANI in Doha, Thakur added that the delegation has requested Qatar to support India in its fight against terrorism, so that the country can give a clear message to the world that Qatar and India stand together against terrorism "Our delegation is from different parties and different ideologies, but they have united and are going out to the world, telling everyone of India's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism. In all our meetings in Qatar, we have been told that India has set a new benchmark, a new normal with Operation Sindoor. if Pakistan dares to attack us again, there will be a strict and decisive response, and we will not hold back... We have asked Qatar to support us in our fight against terrorism, so that we can give a clear message to the world that Qatar and India stand together against terrorism," he said. The Supriya Sule-led delegation will visit Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa as part of India's Operation Sindoor global outreach. Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces on May 7 in response to the barbaric terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. As part of the Operation, nine terrorist infrastructure sites were targeted in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart and offered a ceasefire on May 10.
